by Keisha Centa Putri
Many people find taking English tests much more difficult than speaking in everyday conversation. In everyday situations, they can understand what others are saying, respond fairly fluently, and maintain the flow of communication. However, when faced with test questions, their confidence drops and they feel stressed.
This difference arises because the purpose of English writing tests and their use in everyday life are not the same. In everyday conversation, the main focus of the conversation is, of course, to convey meaning and intent. As long as the meaning of the message can be understood by oneself and the other person, minor errors in grammar are generally not a big deal because what is being assessed is effectiveness rather than perfection when communicating in everyday life. In contrast, English writing tests are designed to measure accuracy and performance in a neat and structured manner. Every detail of the sentence must be considered, from the context of the situation, structure, cohesion, word choice, to grammar. The pressure to answer with the correct structure and according to formal criteria causes many people to think too hard and causes them to miss main points that needs to be discussed in their answers.
In addition, real conversations have supporting elements that are not found in written tests. Facial expressions, intonation, and situational context are not usually explained in depth in written English tests, and body language helps to clarify meaning.
Ultimately, what seems to be missing is not the individual’s language ability itself, but the practice in working under time, pressure and remembering all the points that needs to be addressed at once. Written tests assess the ability to meet certain criteria that require high accuracy, while conversations test the ability to interact with the other speaker effectively and efficiently. Understanding this difference will help us see that fluency in everyday conversation is still a valid level of competence, and that performance on written tests can be improved with the right learning strategies without requiring you to sacrifice your natural language skills.
Source:
- Quizalize Team. (2025, May 30). Many test-takers find the IELTS speaking test to be the hardest part of the exam. Here’s why! Quizalize. https://blog.quizalize.com/2025/05/29/many-test-takers-find-the-ielts-speaking-test-to-be-the-hardest-part-of-the-exam-heres-why
- Rankin, J. (2025, May). Time to think – Memory lane. JALT Publications. https://jalt-publications.org/articles/29392-time-think-memory-lane
- British Council Foundation. (n.d.). Fluency vs. accuracy. British Council Foundation. https://www.britishcouncilfoundation.id/en/english/articles/fluency-vs-accuracy?
- This vs. That. (n.d.). Accuracy vs. fluency. This vs. That. https://thisvsthat.io/accuracy-vs-fluency?
